Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author | Azuma (@azuma_eth)
On July 24th Beijing time, Nvidia officially announced a $10 billion investment in the South Korean internet giant Naver, to further bolster South Korea's AI infrastructure construction. According to subsequent disclosures by Naver, Nvidia will acquire approximately 4.5% of Naver's shares through this strategic investment, becoming one of Naver's significant shareholders.
This investment is not merely a financial stake acquisition but involves further deep strategic cooperation centered on AI data centers. Bloomberg added in its report that the funds invested by Nvidia will be used to support an AI data center project currently under development by Naver. This data center is being jointly developed by Naver and the American private equity firm Brookfield, will fully adopt Nvidia's AI computing hardware in the future, and is expected to expand to more than double its original scale.
For Nvidia, this investment in Naver is a crucial step in its continuous expansion surrounding AI computing power, data centers, and the supply chain system. For Naver, this partnership will further enhance its position in South Korea's AI infrastructure competition.
Naver’s Other Identity: The "Quasi" Parent Company of Upbit
For the cryptocurrency industry, the additional attention garnered by Nvidia's equity acquisition in Naver stems not from Naver's own AI infrastructure layout, but because the company is currently, through its financial subsidiary Naver Financial, advancing an important transaction involving South Korea's cryptocurrency industry — the acquisition of Upbit's parent company, Dunamu.
Naver Financial, established in 2017, is primarily responsible for operating payment services like Naver Pay.
As early as 2021, Naver showed strong interest in the cryptocurrency field, attempting to acquire the mainstream South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb. Although the attempt ultimately failed, this move revealed its ambitions in digital assets.
Despite the initial setback, Naver did not stop exploring the cryptocurrency space.
In 2025, Naver Financial began in-depth cooperation with Dunamu and gradually extended its business reach into digital asset payments — the two sides discussed cooperation around KRW stablecoin payment services, with Naver Pay responsible for payment scenarios and Dunamu providing digital asset-related technical support.
On September 25th of the same year, Naver Financial officially announced that it would jointly promote a share swap transaction with Dunamu to achieve a full acquisition of the latter. According to the plan disclosed by both parties, Naver Financial will issue new shares to exchange for the shares held by Dunamu's shareholders. Upon completion of the transaction, Dunamu will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Naver Financial, and Upbit will enter the Naver ecosystem.
- Odaily Note: For details, please refer to "From Missing Out on Bithumb to Securing Upbit: The Evolution of Naver's Crypto Ambitions."
As one of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit was launched by Dunamu in 2017 and has long held a significant position in the South Korean digital asset trading market. If successfully completed, this transaction would signify a deep integration between a traditional South Korean internet giant and a cryptocurrency trading platform.
According to information previously disclosed by South Korean media, the valuation of the share swap transaction between Naver Financial and Dunamu is approximately $9.9 billion. Upon completion, it is expected to create one of South Korea's largest fintech companies.
However, due to some unforeseen reasons, this transaction has not yet been completed.
Acquisition Intent Agreed, But Stalled at Antitrust Regulation
According to the initial plan between Naver Financial and Dunamu, both parties hoped to complete the integration within 2026. However, due to involvement in multiple regulatory areas such as South Korean finance, digital assets, and large-scale corporate combinations, the approval progress of the transaction has not been smooth.
The biggest obstacle comes from the antitrust review by the South Korean Fair Trade Commission (FTC). As Naver is a major player in South Korea's internet sector, and Upbit has long held a leading position in South Korea's cryptocurrency trading market, the combined entity could form a vast business system covering payments, financial services, and digital asset trading. Therefore, regulatory authorities need to assess whether this would impact market competition.
In addition, this transaction involves several other regulatory approval steps, including approvals related to the change of Naver Financial's largest shareholder, and relevant filings by Dunamu under South Korea's "Act on Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information."
In July 2026, Naver Financial and Dunamu announced another delay in the transaction completion date, pushing the originally planned September 2026 share swap completion deadline to December 31st of this year.
However, both parties have not abandoned the deal. Naver Financial stated that it will continue to actively cooperate with regulatory review procedures and promote the smooth completion of the transaction; Dunamu also emphasized that the cooperation aims to enhance the competitiveness of South Korean companies in the digital finance field.
Although Naver and Dunamu reached an acquisition agreement earlier, whether this transaction valued at approximately $9.9 billion will ultimately be finalized still depends on the final regulatory approvals. This will also determine whether Upbit officially becomes part of Naver's financial portfolio.
So, Is Nvidia Really About to Become a Shareholder of Upbit?
Is Nvidia really going to become a shareholder of Upbit? Looking strictly at the current acquisition progress between Naver and Dunamu, the answer is still no.
Nvidia will acquire approximately 4.5% of Naver's shares, not directly hold any equity in Upbit or its parent company, Dunamu. If the full acquisition transaction between Naver and Dunamu proceeds smoothly in the future, as Upbit is integrated into Naver's financial system, the exchange could indeed establish an indirect equity-level connection with Nvidia.
However, for now, this remains only a possible future relationship. A more accurate description of the current situation is that a potential, yet incomplete, capital connection path has emerged between Upbit, South Korea's Top 1 cryptocurrency exchange, and Nvidia, the world's Top 1 market cap behemoth.
